Trying to find a precedent for the Rangers' ongoing Presidents' Trophy plummet

The New York Rangers are in freefall, suffering through the kind of in-season implosion we rarely see from a contender. The captain has been traded, the longest-serving star is on the block, the coach is on thin ice, and the GM is getting blasted from all sides. It’s a mess, to put it lightly.

And it’s all coming after a 2023-24 season that saw the Rangers produce the best record in the league. That led me to an idea for a post: Which team put together the worst season immediately following a Presidents’ Trophy win? I could go through the history and find other teams that had similar falls, and highlight the ones that were good comparisons for this year’s Rangers.

Then I ran into a problem: I’m not sure there are any.

With the obvious caveat that the season isn’t over and there’s plenty of time for the Rangers to turn this back around, what’s happening in New York right now is verging on unprecedented. We’ve seen Presidents’ Trophy winner take a step back; that’s almost to be expected. We’ve even seen a few miss the playoffs, although that’s extremely rare. But this level of full-fledged meltdown? I don’t know.

Let’s do it anyway, if only to make Rangers fans feel like they’re not completely alone. I’ve picked out seven of the worst seasons by teams that had just won the Presidents’ Trophy. That award dates back to 1986, meaning we have nearly four decades to work with. Surely we can find hope for our pals in New York, he said, not especially confidently.

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